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Today I wanted to write a review for four of the Makeup Revolution #Liphug lipsticks. When these first came out I remember getting a bunch of emails hyping them up and seeing them all over Instagram, but there are so many colour choices I didn't know what to go for. I've finally made up my mind and found four that I want to try. Bring on the shopping!

When I got these through the post I was super happy with the packaging, I love this about Makeup Revolution, they sell makeup which is super affordable and, they don't skip out on presentation. The four I purchased were:

(from left to right)

- I am ready!
- Who we are!
- To get lucky

- Let's raise the bar

The lipsticks promise to be 'super intensive, super wearable and super hugable' with 'incredible comfort and staying power'. Lets see if I found this to be true or not.

I first wanted to go for the coral toned one, 'Let's raise the bar' as I don't have any lip colours currently like this, and I wanted to give it a go, I realise that I've kinda got it at the wrong time of year, but at least I'm ready for Spring.

Something I did notice about 'I am ready!' and,'Who we are!' was how similar they were. As I was ordering I tried to make sure I got four very different shades to get the best value for money, but apparently these two are very alike. Not to worry though, they are different, one definitely having a more pink undertone to it, and one can never have too many red lipsticks.

The final colour is 'To get lucky' and it's definitely my favourite. I love berry shades at this time of year, and actually, this wasn't as dark as I thought it would be when I was ordering, however, it's got that lovely muted rose kinda colour. I love! It's dark enough to fit in with that autumn vibe, but not so dark it becomes difficult to wear.

I've had a go at wearing all of these, and what I will tell you is that they're nice and easy to apply. Since they're just a touch thinner than your average lipstick bullet, it gives you that little bit extra precision during application. The darker shades are quite pigmented, but I would say for all four of these, especially 'Let's raise the bar', apply one coat, leave it to settle for a few minutes, and then build up another coat, and you'll get that colour.

I was very impressed with how hydrating these lip hugs were, they do just that, give your lips a hug! Sometimes lipsticks can be quite drying, but I really felt they kept my lips moisturized, and even after the colour had worn off they didn't leave them dry.

As for how long these last on your lips, I'd say a good couple of hours before you need to reply, and definitely remember to top up after you've eaten. They leave a subtle stain on your lips after application, they don't just fade away completely.

I shall definitely be having another look on Makeup Revolution's website for some more colors, I think I have enough red shades but will have a look for some nude colours I think, and for £1.50 (currently in a sale!) they're a bargain!

Couple of days behind this one as we're getting into the full swing of October now, but I thought I would share with you my favourite Instagram snaps from September. I used to love doing this posts and want to get back into them!

September was such a fun month for me, I kicked it off by going holiday with my best friend Niamh. We went to Majorca for a week and it was fabulous. We stayed in a lovely seaside resort and the weather was amazing, much time was spent by the pool, drinking cocktails and chocolate milkshakes. Not always in that order!

I've also spent lots of time with Jim this month, spending quality time together and hanging out with Dizzy the dog, she's not well bless her, very poorly dog indeed, but we're trying to make her last few days/weeks as comfortable as possible.

Another thing I've kind of become obsessed with this month is organisation. Whether it be using Trello at work to arrange every task you could imagine, or muji storage at home to get my make up collection and beauty bits and bobs in order, I'm obsessed I tell you. Expect some blog posts on storage ideas I'm fantasizing over soon!

All in all September was a pretty good month, it's probably been my favourite September ever. Usually September is always filled with trepidation for me, like starting another year at school, or last year beginning my apprenticeship journey, this year everything was already in place and I just had a fab holiday to enjoy.

October, you've got some pretty high expectations!

Toodledoo!

*Edit: As I published this post, Jim let me know that sadly Dizzy has passed. She had a lovely life and I miss her lots already </3

It's that's time of year where people have either just headed off to uni for a year, or you're in sixth form or college trying to decide if you should go or not.

I've been through all this, and hell yeah, the decision process is stressful, but I'm going to tell you why I decided not to go to uni. Controversial!

In 2012 I started year 12, my first year of sixth form. It was kinda presumed by everyone at this point that I was going to university, even I thought I was. I went to a grammar school, and it honestly felt like there was no other choice. So, off I went, half thinking about the future, but ignoring it to be honest as that was all too big and scary and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch, let alone what I wanted to do when I was a grown up.

Year 12 flew by, and suddenly, there I was, just before the summer holidays being told to start visiting unis, we'd be starting UCAS in September, and I'd better get started with my personal statement.

Ha! Say what now! UCAS? Uni? Personal statement? I, like many others found this quite overwhelming. I knew I loved computer science and media, but I wasn't really sure what kind of course I wanted to do, and the whole prospect of moving away to go study just made me go nope nope nope. But still, I just kinda went with it for a while because that was what everyone did and it was the only 'sensible' choice. Besides, I didn't want to not be able to have a good job and end up living in a dustbin did I? Because that's obviously what happens if you don't go to university... *face palm*

As the months went on, towards Christmas I really started to decide, actually, this isn't my thing. It's not floating my boat. I'm being pushed into something I am not confident about. I knew that yes, I wanted to so 'something' along the lines of computer science and media, and I knew that I wanted a decent job, but I wasn't ready to commit to going to a university, picking a course that might not have been suited, and getting student loan. Make of it what you will, but I just wasn't ready.

That, and I had other plans. Hello apprenticeship land! Christmas of Year 13 was when I'd made my decision, I told my friends, parents and teachers my decision, and they were pretty much okay with it. There was this definite stigma at my school about not going to uni. I felt lost surrounded by everyone else in my year who wanted to go to uni. There were so many UCAS assemblies, so many help sessions to help you apply, write your personal statement, all that jazz, which was great! However, for little old me and a handful of others who decided against it, it felt like we were forgotten about. Deep down, I know that we weren't, and I would like to say thank you to my teachers in sixthform, because they did give me a lot of support, and were lovely, but it was hard to figure out what to do, and where to turn for advice, since the focus was on uni. In some ways, I just wanted it to be accepted as a perfectly adequate choice, that was just as good as university. I needed someone to say, this is okay, this is a great thing to do.

So, left to my own devices whilst everyone was busy on their personal statement, I started looking into apprenticeships. I would highly recommend doing this, for everyone, even if you're set on uni, check out apprenticeships in the area of work you're interested in and see if there's anything you fancy. Top tip: you can go do and apprenticeship and then head off to uni! How's that for some great work experience?

The road to an apprenticeship for me was long, so long, but it was worth it! In January last year (2014) I got an interview for an apprenticeship in social media. This was absolutely terrifying, and I don't think I've ever been more nervous in my life. It kinda sucked because at this point I'd had no practice with interviews or that kinda thing, so didn't do very well. However, the whole experience was a swift learning curve and definitely boosted my confidence for future interviews.

It wasn't until August 2014 that I found an apprenticeship agency in London which looked like it catered for what I wanted to do. They offered SEO and social media as well as other related apprenticeship courses, and I was sold. What was great is that I was given a heap of training and advice on things like interview techniques, what skills I should be working on in my own time, and tips for my future job.

Now, unfortunately I had a little hiccup with my first apprenticeship. My employer, myself and the agency all decided I'd been given a placement in completely the wrong environment. So, this set me back a couple of months, but in February this year, after some more interviews, I got a job!

I am an SEO and social media apprentice at a fab web design agency in central London, and honestly, since I've been working there it's become clear that giving uni a miss was the right choice for me.

So, having an apprenticeship, I can tell you what I've loved about it:

- Money: working means you're going to be earning money. Meanwhile, your friends will be getting their student loan and getting a job maybe if they feel like it, and you'll be there earning because you have to and want to. Nothing is more satisfying than buying something you've saved up for with your own money. I've funded all my driving lessons, a holiday and a new camera for my self. Before this year I'd never even been able to dream of actually investing on things I really wanted. The great thing is that you can start saving up for a car/flat or whatever you want nice and early! No students debts!

- Independence: don't think just because you don't go to university you don't get the same level of independence. When you have an apprenticeship you have to get up everyday and get yourself to work. No one else is going to do it for you.

- Weekends: This might sound weird, but since I've been working regular office hours, I know that at the end of every week I have a full weekend to look forward to, where I can do whatever I want. It's fab. And if you've ever worked in retail, you'll know why not working on the weekend is so nice!

- Experience: In these last six months, I have gained so much life experience. Don't get me wrong, at uni you also get a lot of life experience, moving into your own place takes a lot! But, I'm now used to the daily grind. I've gone from some shy little girl to being able to actually speak to other human beings in professional circumstances. Those with social anxiety, I get ya! It is honestly crazy how much my self confidence has increased in these last six months, I've been through some highs and some pretty shit lows (welcome to adult hood where life's out to get you) but all of it has made me stronger. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

Do I have any regrets?

No. I sometimes ponder whether I've made a huge mistake and should have gone to uni. If you're having a bad day it can be easy to start wondering that, but no, in the grand scheme of things I'm happy. I can honestly say that yes, I am jealous of the midweek partying some of my besties get to do, but, career wise, and experience wise, absolutely not. This has suited me down to the ground.

Don't go to uni just to party. Go to uni because you're sure of your course and want to pursue a career in that path. Like I said, any weekend I want to I can hop on a train up to one of my friend's uni's and go party with them. This fulfills my party needs!

This post is pretty long, but I wanted to write what the full process was like. I don't want to skim over anything. Uni is definitely for some people, and my friends at uni are currently having a whale of a time, but always consider the other options! Don't let people sheepdog you into a decision.

I needed someone to tell me that choosing an apprenticeship was okay. This is me telling you that choosing an apprenticeship is great, and you should 100% go for it.

I've been so busy lately, and time is going so fast! How on earth is it May? I still feel like it's only March, hence I've got a spot of blogging to do!

I'm having a think about where I want my blog to go, what kind of content I want and all that kind of stuff, and I think I just want to document whatever makes me happy. Blog posts I always enjoy are Instagram posts, summing up the recent shizzle I've been up to.

So, rewinding back to March...

March was filled with me having this obsession with trees. It seems like the warmer weather has taken a lot longer to arrive than normal this year, and I couldn't help but take photos of wintery branches. I've spent lots of time in a local park by work and it's been pretty cool watching the seasons gradually change.

It's amazing how fast time passes once you've left school.

I also got to see Wicked with one of my besties, Lucy. It was absolutely brilliant, we had a great seat in the middle of the stalls, and the whole performance was spectacular. Would really recommend to anyone thinking of going.

I also experimented with my hair in March. I'd had my natural colour for a good year or so and wanted to go ombré on the ends again, it was lovely. The whole reason was so that I could dye my hair a lavender shade on the ends. Short story is, I had ombré for a month, then lavender for a week, but it just didn't take to my hair evenly at all, and was more grey than anything, so, as I was having a trim anyway, I went back to dark brown.

Finally, I got to see some cute little lambs at work! There was an exhibition on with four baby lambs being looked after. They were very cute, so cute I wanted to take them all home with me! Sheep are just the best.

That sums up March. I can't really believe it was already over a month ago, but there we go!

Okay, so.. seems like my blogging has gone out the window doesn't it? Well yup, for February it did, everything got crazy busy, quite scary, but so exciting! Hopefully I should be able to get back into more of a routine now, as a lot of things in my life have fallen by the wayside recently (running), but I thought I'd share with you some of the moments I popped on Instagram this last month.

This month has been cray cray. To start with, it was my birthday! I've hit 19, and it's fab. I really didn't like the idea of it, but hey you gotta embrace change, and so far life as a 19 year old has been pretty damn fine. My birthday was great, I had a night out with all my besties and was so happy, the kinda happy where you just cheesily grin at everyone! I spent the day with my family and boyfriend, and many hours were spent watching my new Miranda DVD. Such fun!

Moving forward, I had an exciting job interview for a web design company in London. I was honestly terrified, but, boy was it worth it as I have secured myself a new job! I'm so excited for what's to come, and after my first week I really feel lucky to be working in such a great environment with some very creative minds.

As well as my birthday, I had two more special weekends in February, one spent with the boyf on Valentine's, the other, also spent with him on our three year anniversary! We went out for TGIs one week, and had a cozy day the other, I can't believe it's been such a long time, I'm a very happy Becca!

Running and blogging have taken a back seat, but I want that to change, I was really enjoying running, and need to keep it up, since I never seem to get to the train station on time in the morning, so being able to run with ease would be nice! I may have to blog less, we'll see, but hey, I'm just settling down into my new job so these things gotta take time before I have a steady routine.

Another exciting thing that has happened is.. I'm finally on my way to getting a full driver's license! I've just had my first lesson and it was so much fun! Not nearly as scary as I thought it would be, and I am so excited to keep on learning!

Also, I've become rather addicted to reading. Fifty Shades. Yup. I saw the film and then had to read the books. I'm addicted, and spend all my free time at the moment reading it. Woops. This is just a phase I'm sure!

Hopefully you too are having a fab time, and maybe some exciting things are happening to you too! Do let me know! I'll see you soon!

Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on one of the contour kits available from Makeup Revolution. I've been using this since around mid-November, and it's become a daily staple in my makeup routine.

I picked this up from Makeup Revolution, because contouring really seems to be the in thing. By this, I mean that more and more people are doing it, and there are more and more techniques popping up all over Pinterest. I wanted to give it a go, since I'd never bothered before, and at only £3.50, I couldn't really say no. I personally use the Ultra Fair C01 kit, which suits my skin tone pretty damn well.

I was really impressed with the kit when it arrived in the post, good old internet shopping ay! It looks neat, and fits in my travel makeup bag so easily, always a bonus.

IMO, the pigment of the contour shades is really high, so much so that there have been a few occasions I've had to go blending crazy after adding a little too much of the darker shade. However, that does bring me onto another good point, these are pretty easy to blend, once you start those circular motions it's all good.

One thing I would say, is that after quite a lot of use, they do look quite bitty/grainy in the pan, which does make it look a little less wow, however I haven't noticed this impacting anything when applying it to ma face.

I would personally pick a slightly different blusher shade, but that's just me. It doesn't mean it doesn't work or looks nice.

So, if like me you want a taste of contouring for an affordable price, give this a go!

Hasn't this month gone crazy fast? January is usually such a crappy month for me, but this year, it's been pretty fun. I've really put a whole lot more effort into my blog, while keeping it quite chill, and I've taken up a new hobby - running.

The last time I did one of these Instagram round up posts was in November, because during December I was completing the 100 happy days challenge. I didn't want to bombard you with even more photos. So, if you want to rewind to November click here.

Hopefully you can see some improvement in the quality of my photos, I've tried to just pay a bit more attention to lighting etc, it's the small things ya know, just a little at a time.

I've had a quiet few days blog wise as I'm still a little sad I've had to pause my Couch to 5k challenge due to injury. However, I'm resting as much as I can so hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things asap.

Okay, so fun fact for you, the first kind of eyeliner I ever used properly were felt liners just like this one. I switched between Soap & Glory and No7. Both were pretty good for a beginner, especially for learning how to actually line your eyes, however neither were as precise as this, and I found them to dry out pretty quickly. This however is another story.

For the last year I have been using Boot's Seventeen High Drama Liquid Eyeliner, and thought I had found the one and only. I love it, seriously love it. It was easy to apply, stays on for an eternity, and quite precise too, however it wasn't 0.4mm precise like the beauty above.

I bought this on a whim I must admit, I was in Superdrug with my bestie, saw it, saw how fine the tip was, and thought, why the hell not, let's try it. I hadn't seen any reviews for it, or even heard of it (that's either a sign of it being the underdog, or a sign that I live under a rock). At first, I continued to use my sacred Seventeen liner for the majority of my liner, and used this just for the flicks. Or wings. Whatever floats your boat my friend. However, things took a turn when I just found that this little beauty did the whole damn job. Perfectly.

Not only is it, master precise, yes, they did name it appropriately, but it is perfect for giving me a symmetrical angle each time. I use the length of the nib, pointed from my nose to my outer eye (think about when you use a brush to see where your brows should end). I also found it stays on pretty well too! I have quite oily lids, so I do get a bit of transfer sometimes, but on the whole it's pretty damn good.

I've been using this since mid-november, and the nib is still nice and pointy, plus it hasn't dried out yet. Fabulous. This liner now comes everywhere with me, and I shall definitely be repurchasing, I thought all felt type liners were a little bit poop until I tried this.

By the way, I haven't banished my sacred Seventeen liner to the naughty step, I still have a great love for it, one can never let go of a first love ;)

I hope you had a wonderful new year and had a lovely time celebrating! I have just about (finally) got over my illness I had over Christmas and New Year, so I am ready to get back on my blogging game.

To put it simply, I'm rather hyped ;)

I want to pop my new year's resolutions in this post, and also some things I would like to incorporate into my blog over the coming months.

Okay so, resolutions are:

Worry less. I'm going with the whole, will this matter in a day/week/year thing. If it won't matter. Try not to fret.

Cut down on fizzy drinks. I seem to have spent my whole life drinking diet coke, so I'm going to try and save the fizzy stuff for night's out or special occasions.

Ensure I go jogging more frequently than never. This means actually going jogging from time to time, not never, which has been my routine for like the last year...

Travel somewhere cool. I have no idea what my holiday situation is this year yet, so even just finding somewhere cool in England that I've never been to before sounds like fun to me.

Blog more. Flick back to my blogging schedule in October, if I can blog that much all year I would be a very happy bunny.

Attempt vlogging. I've literally spent the last month living and breathing danger0usperson's vlogs (did I mention I adore her) and it's inspired me to have a go at it at least.

Okay, it kinda looks like a lot but I think they're all achievable, it's more a case of how deep shall I delve into each one as the year progresses.

Next up, what I'm feeling blogwise:

Nail posts. I am so bad at painting my nails, but it has come to my attention that I have way too many nail polishes than I'd like to admit, so it would make sense that I make an effort and use them. So I'm gonna try hard as hell to make something pretty outta my nails.

Music posts. I don't know about you, but from time to time I fancy a jam, so you might get monthly updates about my favourite songs of the moment.

Outfit posts. I have a um selfie stick. YES I KNOW THE SHAME. However, since my camera can be a bit temperamental, and I don't have a tripod, this might actually allow me to get my outfit on camera!

Makeup orientated posts. I'm getting more and more into makeup day by day, so if I find after decorating my face it actually looks half decent, expect to see it floating around the blogosphere.

Couch to 5k. Remember me saying I want to go jogging? I'm using an app on my phoney woney to make it happen. As part of motivating myself I reckon that by sharing my progress week by week, I might actually stick to it, and manage to run for a bus without absolutely dying.